Review: short film ‘Final Gasp’ aims for drawn-out suspense than slashing

A young woman home alone serves as the basic premise for the short film, Final Gasp. Filmmaker David Teixeira plays around with slasher conventions, namely the isolated setting and great attention to building suspense, to keep the audience engaged. He crafts each shot with heart, and his passion for genre storytelling is quite evident. While Teixeira displays promising craftsmanship, there is very little actual slashing for a slasher flick. All the blood is saved for the last few minutes, so the focus becomes the buildup rather than a satisfying payoff.

In her debut role, Catarina Carvalho plays Lindsay, a 20-something musician sharing an apartment with two roommates. With the place to herself for the weekend, Lindsay imbibes in a little wine and vibes into the night. When a mysterious package arrives on her doorstep, she first believes it might be a delivery for her roommates, but it quickly becomes clear that’s simply not the case. What began as a quiet night at home morphs into one of unholy terror, as someone in a mask and robe shows up to claim her flesh.

Final Gasp isn’t nearly as earnest as Play. Pause. Kill, among Teixeira’s finest offerings to date, yet there is a particularly rough-edged charm to the short. Carvalho delivers a solid lead performance, finding nuance in the unspeakable fright to draw the audience into her corner. The film, clocking in at under 15 minutes, is as much a slasher homage as it is an exercise in microbudget filmmaking. It might play its cards too close to the vest, but there’s plenty of fun to be had.

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